About

Disaster Management Service is a charter obligation of the Philippine Red Cross, primarily tasked to deliver humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable affected by natural hazards or human-induced emergencies. Through its wide network of well-trained, skilled, and committed staff and volunteers across the country, the DMS implements its mandate through an integrated holistic approach to save lives, minimize human suffering, and reduce loss of properties, by implementing preparedness, risk reduction, and management programs for the communities at risk; ensuring timely and effective relief assistance to affected population; and conducting recovery program to effect smooth transition from emergency to development.

Profile

The Philippine archipelago lies off the southeast coast of the Asian mainland, a little above the equator. The country is situated within the typhoon belt and is visited by no less than twenty typhoons annually. In the season of rains, floods and tidal waves are not infrequent. The destruction of watersheds and forest during last three decades has increased the occurrence of flashfloods in many areas across the country. The Philippines also lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire where seismic activity and earthquakes of gravely calamitous proportions have hit it time and again. Volcanoes abound in the archipelago. At least ten of these are active. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 was the most severe in the last 80 years.

Filipinos have had to cope with calamities since time immemorial. U.S. colonial officials who took over governance of the country at the turn of the century realized at once the need for organized disaster relief. Col. W.C. Rivers, Chief of the Philippine Constabulary and a member of the Philippine Red Cross Board saw the urgent necessity for such an organization when he headed the relief work undertaken by the U.S. Army for victims of the Taal Volcano eruption in 1911 and of the typhoon which devastated Leyte and Surigao in 1912.

When the Philippine Chapter of the American Red Cross was established in 1917, Disaster Relief was a charter obligation. By 1920, the foundations for a national disaster relief program were already established. In 1929, a Legislative Act signed by Governor General Dwight Davis gave the Red Cross authority to assume leadership in relief operations – a function carried by the Red Cross until the outbreak of World War II.

After its establishment in 1947, the PRC has sought to establish and maintain system of disaster preparedness and relief that can be applied in meeting the emergency situations that may be caused by typhoons, floods, fires, earthquake, landslides and other natural hazards. Since then, the Red Cross has further expanded its programs and services, implementing appropriate humanitarian interventions to empower and capacitate the most vulnerable in reducing their disaster risks, and delivering services that enables communities to prepare for, respond to, cope with, and recover from the impacts brought by both natural hazards and human-induced emergencies.

Milestones/Timeline

1947

The Disaster Management Services, previously known as “Disaster Preparedness and Relief Service (DPRS)”, has been one of the major PRC services. As its name, the focus has only been in preparedness activities and relief.

1994

It has pioneered the implementation of community-based disaster preparedness in Southeast Asia through its Integrated Community-based Disaster Planning Program (ICDPP) piloted in Palawan, Benguet, Southern Leyte, Surigao Del Norte and Quezon City.

1996

The PRC Operations Center was established to serve as platform for alert, monitoring, early warning, reporting, coordination, and communication of PRC.

1997

With this expansion of building programs on the past two events, the department was renamed to Disaster Management Services (DMS), also aligned with the international bodies to shift from preparedness and relief to prevention, mitigation, and relief.

2003

The ICDPP continued on until highlighting the establishment of Barangay Disaster Action Teams (BDATs) and Barangay Disaster Action Plan (BDAPs).

2005

The first shelter project was implemented in Bicol and Mindoro region in response to Typhoon Milenyo.

2006

The following year was the first integrated response-recovery operation of the PRC, with a permanent resettlement of a community complete with school and health facilities implemented in Southern Leyte after the Guinsaugon landslide.

The PRC Emergency Response Unit (ERU) was also established in 2006, its 24/7 response team dedicated to provide assistance in search and rescue, firefighting, medical assistance, and trauma incidents.

2010

The school-based disaster preparedness program was piloted and brought about the development of IEC materials (workbooks, board games) specifically geared for the youth. Following Typhoon Ketsana, DRR implementation in urban communities was strengthened with projects covering the whole Marikina (2010) and Taguig (2012). Thereafter, more urban DRR projects have been implemented and are in the pipeline.

The same year, under the shelter program, provision of livelihood materials and assets, and the PRC’s pioneer implementation of Cash Transfer Programming (CTP) through distribution of cash vouchers in PRC operations, was implemented.

2011

Innovations in DRR programming was conceptualized with the inclusion of climate change adaptation and ecosystems management and restoration. The chapter response tool, Red Cross Action Taken (RCAT) was also piloted in 2012, with the aim of being the chapter’s first responders and supports in service delivery.

2012

The livelihood component was officially started through the conditional cash grants.

2014

PRC holds the record as the RC Movement’s largest cash-for-relief distribution with 90,779 beneficiaries during the Haiyan emergency operations.

2015

PRC launched the Hazards App, an application developed to make the general public aware of the various risks and hazards through social media, available in both iOS and Android.

PRC released in 2015 its guidelines in the recovery sectors of shelter, livelihood, water and sanitation, health, education, and disaster risk reduction. Following this, the DM Manual was also reviewed to incorporate these recovery sectors.2016

DRR in the workplace was piloted in partnership with a private company, with the intention to further improve workplace DRR.

Components

The department has three (3) components: Disaster Management (DM), Operation Center (OpCen), and Emergency Response Unit (ERU). The DM’s main function is to empower and capacitate the most vulnerable, alleviate human suffering and prevent further loss of life and assets through timely and effective response, preparedness, risk reduction activities, and recovery interventions following natural hazards and/or human-induced emergencies.

Meanwhile, OpCen serves as the communication, control and coordination center of the PRC to support its chapters to monitor, collate, and disseminate information. Its main activities includes alert / early notification, situation monitoring, collation of data, information dissemination, and reporting. And the ERU is a specialized unit for search and rescue operations, medical and fire fighting capabilities. This unit is equivalent to other emergency services as the “Emergency Medical Service (EMS)”. It is also a 24/7 operation responding to a call within its area of responsibility.

Core Program Services Provided

Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction

Training and Capacity Building

The DMS provides a range of training courses offered to the public especially to RC143 volunteers at the community, school and workplace and to PRC volunteers and staff.

Training

Description

Standard DRRM Training

A 7-day intensive training course, with lecture, discussion and workshop sessions, designed for PRC staff and volunteers. It aims to enhance the capacity of the PRC in implementing DRR programs through its chapters. This training serves as the foundation for other DRRM training courses.

Instructor’s Training Course

A 3-day lecture, discussion and practice teaching for PRC staff and volunteers. It aims to expand the pool of DRRM Instructors who are competent to facilitate community-based DRR, School-based DRR, Workplace DRR, and Red Cross Action Team training courses.

Disaster Management Course

A certificated commercial training targeted for the general public

Community-based DRRM Training

A 3-5-day training course utilizing a combination of lecture, discussion and workshop sessions designed to contribute in the promotion of a culture of safe and resilient communities.

School-based DRRM Training

A 3-day training course utilizing a combination of lecture, discussion and workshop sessions designed for teaching and non-teaching staff to contribute to the promotion of safe and resilient schools.

DRRM Training in the Workplace

A 2-day training course in collaboration with the Safety Services to contribute to the promotion of safe and resilient workplaces.

DRRM Orientation

Short lecture and discussion tailored for communities, schools and workplaces requesting for basic DRR sessions for a specific number of hours, usually less than 8 hours.

Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) Training of Facilitators

A 3 day lecture, discussion and workshop on how to facilitate the VCA process. Topics include VCA concepts, process, steps and tools. Graduates shall be equipped with the knowledge and skills to facilitate VCA processes in communities, schools and workplaces; it should be conducted together with the Basic DRRMT, or is part of the SDRRMT, or as a refresher.

Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment Training of Trainers

A 5 day lecture, discussion, and workshop equipping PRC staff and volunteers with the knowledge and skills on how to effectively conduct VCA Training of Facilitators.

Climate Risk Assessment (CRA) Training of Facilitators

A 3 day lecture, discussion and workshop on how to facilitate the CRA process.

Climate Change Training of Trainers

A 5 day lecture, discussion, and workshop on climate change, its definition, and cross-cutting impacts.

A 5 day lecture, discussion, and workshop on how to conduct PASSA training. It aims to build capacity of PRC staff and volunteers in facilitating participatory approach on how communities can make their shelter and settlements safer.

Shelter Kit Training

A 3 day lecture, discussion, and workshop on shelter in the context of emergency operations.

Contingency Planning Training of Facilitators

In coordination with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), it is a 3-day lecture, discussion and workshop on how to facilitate contingency plans including concepts, process and tools.

Cash Transfer Programming Basic Course

A 2 day lecture, discussion, and workshop on CTP process, especially in the PRC context.

Introduction to Livelihoods

A 5 day course training based on the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) guidelines for Livelihood Programming and the LRC Livelihoods Toolbox. It is designed to ensure a combination of theory and practice in order to facilitate the understanding of the information and subsequent application of the knowledge acquired. Its objective is to provide basic theoretic and practical knowledge to identify and design livelihood projects to PRC staff and volunteers.

Red Cross Action Team (RCAT) Training

A 6 day training course utilizing a combination of lecture, discussion and workshop sessions and emphasizing collaboration and team work. It aims to strengthen the capacity of PRC staff and volunteers in disaster preparedness for response.

National Disaster Response Team (NDRT) Induction Course

A 5 day induction course designed to provide general procedures for deployment in disaster-affected areas, with focus on assessment. Graduates of the course are mobilized at a national scale when need arises. This serves as the basic course for all other NDRT specialization courses.

NDRT Shelter and Settlements Specialization Course

A 5 day specialization course designed for NDRT inductees with technical discussions on shelter both in the context of relief and recovery operations.

NDRT Camp Management Specialization Course

5 day training courses specialize in developing skills in managing camps and camp-like settings, and to understand the importance of coordination in camp management.

Management of the Dead and Missing (MDM) in Emergencies

A 3 day training with the aim of enabling first responders to become familiar and skilled on the different techniques in managing dead bodies brought by natural hazards.

In addition, the DMS, through the chapters, facilitates participatory and inclusive processes such as VCA, PASSA, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Sessions for the Community and for the Youth (both in and out of schools), Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Planning including Early Warning System (EWS) and Contingency Planning at the community, school or workplace level.

Search, Rescue, and RetrievalThe DMS through the ERU responds to the needs of an individual or a population in times of emergencies including but not limited to structural fire, medical emergencies and road accidents.

Pre-emptive EvacuationRCAT143 and RC143 volunteers are involved in disseminating warning messages to the populations at risk. Subsequently, they assist in pre-emptive evacuation upon receipt of warning messages.

Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs AnalysisPRC staff and volunteers are mobilized for assessing the impacts of a hazard to determine if and what PRC interventions are needed in the affected area/s.

Relief DistributionThe PRC distributes relief items to the disaster-affected population prioritizing the most vulnerable. Relief items may come in the form of ready-to-eat meals, food packs, sleeping kits, hygiene kits, kitchen sets, tarpaulins, water container, toolkits, tents, or cash which are provided based on need.

Food Items- ready to eat meals- 3 day family food pack- 15 day family food pack

Deployment of Surge Team to ChaptersThe PRC NHQ will extend the necessary support to operating Chapters by deploying resources (manpower, equipment, and funds) and ensuring compliance to policies and procedures.

Coaching and MentoringThe PRC NHQ will extend the necessary support to all Chapters by providing training, technical assistance and guidance in implementing the DMS service delivery, in compliance to policies and procedures. This would also entail the regular gathering, collation of reports, and monitoring, ensuring that targets are achieved.

DMS Projects and Status (as of 31 July 2016)

The DMS department is currently implementing 40 projects across various phases. Majority are DRRM projects, followed by disaster preparedness (DP) projects and recovery projects.

Project

Program

Supported by

Inclusive Date of Implementation and Percentage of completion

1

Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction Project in Aklan and Caloocan City

DRRM

Finnish Red Cross

From year 2014 until March 2016

Status: 100%

2

Building the Resilience and awareness of Metro Manila Communities to Natural Disaster and Climate Change Impacts

DRRM

Australian Red Cross

From year 2012 until March 2016

Status : 100%

3

Partners for Resilience 1

DRRM

Netherlands Red Cross

From year 2011 until 2015

Status: 100%

4

Improving Economic and Social Development Conditions of Most Vulnerable Populations to Natural Disasters in Masbate, Philippines

DRRM Shelter

Spanish Red Cross

From year 2015 until 2016

Status: 100%

5

“Empowering Communities and Local Government Units in Implementing Inclusive Development Programs in the Philippines”

DRRM

Europe Aid- Finnish RC, German RC, Netherlands RC and Spanish RC

From year 2013 until 2016

Status : 65-70%

6

Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Project

DRRM

IFRC

From September 2015 until June 2017

Status: 20%

7

Community and School Disaster Risk Reduction Management (BMZ)

DRRM

German Red Cross

From year 2013 until 2016

Status: 78%

8

Community Based Health and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

DRRM

Spanish Red Cross

From year 2016 until 2018

Status: 5-10%

9

Community Disaster Risk Reduction

DRRM

French Red Cross

October 2014 until July 2016

Status: 100%

10

Community Disaster Risk Reduction

DRRM

Japanese Red Cross

August 2014 until December 2016

Status: 62%

11

Community Disaster Risk Reduction

DRRM

Netherlands Red Cross

August 2015 until December 2016

Status: 50-70%

12

Community Disaster Risk Reduction

DRRM

American Red Cross

July 2015 until June 2017

Status: 57%

13

Community Disaster Risk Reduction

DRRM

Australian Red Cross

April 2015 until December 2016

Status: 10%

14

Community Disaster Risk Reduction

DRRM

British Red Cross

June 2014 until September 2016

Status: 80%

15

Community Disaster Risk Reduction

DRRM

Swiss Red Cross

July 2014 until December 2015

Status: 100%

16

Community Disaster Risk Reduction

DRRM

German Red Cross

April 2015 until September 2016

Status: 80%

17

Healthy and Safe Living

DRRM

Spanish Red Cross

From year 2015 until 2017

Status: 65-70%

18

Disaster Law Program

DP

IFRC

From January until December 2016

Status: 20%

19

Proud of My Purok (PoMP)

DRRM

Netherlands Red Cross

From year 2014 until 2017

Status: 50%

20

Red Cross Action Team (RCAT 143) Project for 16 Chapters

DP

ICRC

From year 2016 until 2017

Status: 50%

21

Red Cross Action Team (RCAT 143) Project for 12 Chapters

DP

IFRC

From December 2015 until June 2017

Status: 40%

22

Building Healthy and Resilient School

DRRM

Australian Red Cross

October 2015 until June 2018

Status: 5%

23

Urban Risk Reduction and Management Project

DRRM

Norwegian RC

From year 2014 until 2016

Status: 50%

25

Typhoon Nona Recovery Assistance on Shelter and Livelihood Program in Northern Samar and Sorsogon